when i saw skipper she was chatting with her friends under the basking platform, and when the conversation was over she swam to me first. the reaso i gat her is because she was dfferent than the other turtles; she had a darker shell that was more ridgy, she moved motre quickly, ang she had a more pronuonced red blotch. i will not regret picking her

I first met my turtles on Mother's Day, of all things. It was the first one since my grandmother had passed away, so my grandpa thought it would be nice to take the family to dinner in her honor. The restaurant was conveniently located near an animal shelter. We decided to stop there on the way back, because my aunt was looking for a dog. I'll admit I was on a bit of a reptile "high" (I had just bought a musk turtle earlier that day at a reptile show), and ended up in a "Miscellaneous" room filled with rodents and reptiles.

Two RES in a kiddie pool swam over to say hello, and my grandpa said that he remembered them from one of his previous visits--a month before. No filter, no basking spot. Just two turtles in brown water and some decaying lettuce floating around. The rest of my family walked in, and had to leave because they teared up (not out of pity for the turtles, their pool just saturated the air with ammonia). So, I walked out with the RES and a YBS (who was living just as poorly and, shortly afterwards, developed swollen limbs and suddenly died). As expected, the RES had deep shell rot--after months of vet visits, medication (initially mis-prescribed), and dry-docking, they finally healed to the point where they could live in (well-filtered!) tanks, and their beloved summer pond.

I have always loved turtles, I was browsing Facebook and a girl I went up school with had a post said free someone come get them before I release then e or flush whatever comes first. When I saw the two the one was very active and the other didn't move a lot. The first one squirt made it fine but by morning the second one had passed away. The next two I got like 2 years later a girl has posted them on Craigslist and could no longer care for them. I offered to go meet her which would have been a 3 hour ride one way she was thrilled about my tank and that I would take both. She decided to ship them overnight to me. As soon as I opened the box they were trying to get out n just fell in love. They are all 3 males and doing great together flt 2 1/2 years now!

I was in a pet store when I saw all these RES cramped up in a tiny tank. I felt so pity for them but I could only buy one of them for my pet. When I peered down at them they all ran away and hid but Evergreen swam to me like "pick me as your pet please " so I bought him. At first, he was very weak and slow but now he's better.

When I first saw Jade he was in a 40 gallon tank at a stand in the mall with about 50-100 other hatchlings. I know, terrible, but at the time I didn't know better. He and the others were all swimming like mad and he actually wasn't the one I had said I wanted, but he swam into the net when the lady went to scoop the other one out. So, he chose me and I took him home. That was around ten years ago.

While I was in the pet shop, I looked into their turtle tank. Inside, was around 15 RES crammed in. Some looked unwell. I felt pity for them but knew I didn't have much knowledge in helping turtles. So while I was looking in the tank, I saw a turtle staring at me, then she raced down the rock to look at me but fell onto its back half way down the rock. Then, I knew she was the right turtle for me. I named her Flip, by the way, because she flipped over while trying to look at me.

This thread is from a long time ago! But I just joined. I first saw Pan in a tiny plastic container in Chinatown, as many sad turtle stories start. Out of all the other turtles being kept there, he was the only one being active (expressing anything besides lethargy and depression.) He was scrambling against the corner of the wall, persistently trying to climb out, and flopping down in his typical clumsy manner I have now come to love. My friend talked me into getting him that day, though I was not planning to at all. Of course I felt horribly guilty almost as soon as I bought him, and after unsuccesfully looking for a new home, resolved to fully commit, buy a nice setup and pamper him. It's 8 months later and Pan is healthy, happy, and extremely social. Everyday he wakes up and stretches out his legs under the basking lamp, which I think is his type of yoga or meditation. He happily flops down in the water when I enter the room, and does a little paddling dance until I pay attention to him.

When Atticus first met me he was terrified. he was four years old already and his owner already had him in a shoe box ready for transport. after I set him up at home he was still wary of me but every day I spoke to him. I sat beside the tank and told him how I was going to give him a better home, good food and lots of love. He was in a 10 gallon when I got him, unbelievable. He had terrible pyramiding and must not have shed in years. He's happy now climbs on to the ATBA to be petted on his own.

When Arianna first met she was in a old lego box and some gravel they removed the top fully and when she saw me she ran to me and my heart broke for my baby girl right there. It makes me feel even more special since she seems not to care for other humans unless they're hot guys oh and she was in love with my bff's neice. Weird I know.

Harley, Remy and Jean arrived by mail to me when I opened the package the all crawled out furiously exploring while removed all the packing. i corralled them into one spot to i could pick them up and put them in the tank and Gene looked up at me, tilted his head and smiled. Idc what anyone says turtles smile. Harley did the same in my hand and then tried to crawl up my arm. Remy was sluggish when i first got him but now he's insanely rambunctious.

I got my Timothea on Craigslist and she was taking a bath and shedding like mad. The person seemed like a good owner though, since he knew about turtles and had her a long time beforehand. She is extremely friendly, and it even seems like he may have trained her some. She comes when called, and she loves people, she even tries to crawl up your body, and nestled at my shoes for warmth. She bit me a couple of times, but nothing like some of the sites I read said would happen. It was almost gentle as if she were playing. A smart girl.

Being retired I re-joined the corporate Philanthropy group I helped start in the early 80's. I was most welcomed ! Most are pet owners which helped me present a new direction in our volunteerism. A large percentage voted to join with our local Humane Society ! Sadly there is no prerequisite to pet ownership ! Sure some out there will say I'm bad tempered too , bottom line to me it's all about the turtles ( all pets ) being able to have a happy , healthy , long life !!!